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Boylan Hat-trick Steals The Show It’s great that the commercial sector is keen to pump money into the game at this level and the Bryco sponsorship of what used to be the Ryman League Cup is to be commended. But the reality is that few clubs manage to rise to the occasion of these minor cups and, similarly, fans also tend to show scant interest. The disappointing crowd at Theobalds Lane last night, the total lack of atmosphere (unless you count one vocal idiot in the stand who demonstrated as much knowledge of the game as he did of calorie counting) means that the games rarely bring any sparkle into the footballing calendar. Thank goodness then for Lee Boylan. A Canvey hat-trick is unusual nowadays and so when they do come along, they are so welcome. His three goals were suitable reward for his industry and effort and now puts him as Canvey’s top scorer. He might have scored more because he kept popping up all over the place with headers or shots and the home defence certainly found him a difficult handful. But it was Jeff Minton who opened the scoring on 10 minutes for Canvey after Neil Gregory was brought down just outside the Cheshunt penalty area. Minton placed the free-kick perfectly into the back of the neck, Goalkeeper Russell Ling merely a spectator. One-nil to Canvey from a free-kick. It was to be a night for deadly free-kicks as Cheshunt's Ross White scored a copycat goal just fifteen minutes later, to bring the Ambers back to level terms. In fact, yet another Ross White free-kick almost put his side into the lead just before half-time. From a near identical spot he blasted past Canvey's non-existent wall, only to see his effort ricochet of the crossbar before being cleared to safety. The first half finished with the two teams level on goals and just about level on points – perhaps Canvey just shading it as they showed more potential to take the game, they just found it difficult to get up into the necessary gear to really start motoring. But all credit to Cheshunt. They played with spirit and drive and it is not surprising that they have an unbeaten Ryman League run this term. But could they keep up this level of play for the full 90 minutes? The second half would tell. Half Time Cheshunt 1 Canvey 1 From the moment the second half started the few travelling Yellow Army fans sensed that Canvey were not going to lose this one. They gradually started to pull out in front and the gap between their league positions slowly became apparent. Canvey had more ideas, had better control and showed more skill. The only area where the hosts could match them was in the area of enthusiasm – and nobody can take that away from Cheshunt. It took a clever Boylan goal in the 67th minute to start the Canvey ball rolling. Steve Parmenter (he had a very good game) did all the hard work coming in from the left with a low cross. Boylan sneaked into the danger area undetected and had little difficulty slotting the ball home past the stranded Ling. In fact Russell Ling spent a good deal of the evening either stranded or flapping unnecessarily at balls he ought to have controlled. With the confidence of another goal, Canvey started to forge ahead although it has to be said, they did so with a very laid back approach to the game. Perhaps it was the cold atmosphere of the stadium, (both literally and metaphorically) that just made it seem that way. Canvey’s third goal was made, rather unusually, by a Steve Ward shot from nowhere in the 78th minute. He picked up a loose ball some 25yds out and, after a short run toward goal, he sent in what looked to be a half decent attempt on target. But just to be on the safe side it was that man Boylan again who connected on the 6yd box and made sure the ball went into the back of the net. Cheshunt never gave up running and Ross White was providing some good through balls for Leon Archer to chase, but he caught few of them. Cheshunt looked the most dangerous when they ran at the Canvey defence. Like so many games recently, we saw Canvey defenders backing off and, with a bit more skill or imagination (or a combination of both), Cheshunt might have punished their visitors. As it was Canvey stayed in control and furthered their lead just one minute later. Again it was Boylan who converted but this time the hard work to set it all up came from the industrious Jeff Minton. He always looked strong on the ball and his distribution was perfect all night. On this occasion he broke out on the left and managed to find a gap to make a good cross that found Craig Davidson. Crow had a half-decent crack and the best Ling could do was smother the ball, delivering it perfectly for that man yet again – Lee Boylan. A hat-trick and a big confidence boost to the Canvey goal-scoring machine that does seem to have lost its way recently. With the game sewn up both managers decided to make a few changes, but for rather different reasons. For Cheshunt pride was at stake; they wanted to prove that the defeat of Aldershot in the second round was no fluke. For Canvey it was the opportunity to give a rest to some hard-working players and give a run-out to subs who must have been frozen sitting on the bench. Within the space of five minutes Canvey brought on Michael Lee, Bertie Brayley and Paul Cobb. Following his penalty ‘miss’ last week, Cobby was keen to get back into scoring mode and in the 87 minute he almost did it. A long ball forward into Ling’s penalty area went unchallenged and Cobby seized the chance to get onto the end of it. Whether it was bad luck or short-sightedness I don’t know, but the ball eluded him but Bertie Brayley was on hand to fire home perfectly into an empty net. It seemed that, at 5 – ,1 the fun was over, but a last minute penalty miss by Cheshunt gave the last laugh, and the complete victory, to Canvey. This game always had the potential to be a banana skin and no matter how ‘easy’ a game might look on paper, remember Goliath did get KO’d by David. However, the omens were on Goliath’s side this time. David’s manager had just received the Manager of the Month Award – the poison chalice of football. Match Report by Merv Teams
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